This document provides tips and strategies for startups to generate attention and publicity when they are relatively unknown. It recommends focusing on collaboration, pitching stories to journalists, using data to find story ideas, highlighting customer successes, becoming a source of expertise in your field, and building community engagement. It also emphasizes the importance of listening first before speaking, treating reputation building like a relationship that takes time, and turning negatives into positives through persistence.

1. Boom! How to create attention when
nobody knows your startup (yet)

2. Felix Mergemeier Sebastian Rumberg
PR Consultant
@felixmergemeier
Account Director
@rumberg

3. 35 consultants in 3 offices create attention for
high-growth tech companies across Europe.

4. Let’s get to it.

5. In the beginning God created the heaven
and the earth. And there was no Boom.
— The Bible, Genesis 1 (modified)

6. A small foundation will do
It’s not sexy, but this will safe you time and
headaches and doesn’t take long.

7. Forget about press releases
Save them for your most important announcement that are of interest
for many publications. Write really short emails in the meantime.

8. Extreme
You
Opposite
Chose your side
Successful stories online fall into one of the two ends on a simple scale.
Everything in between won’t succeed in the long run.

9. + =
Collaboration pays off
Especially in Germany and Europe collaborations pay off in the beginning to get coverage.
The journalists hardly work with large profile pieces on unknown founders.

10. Pitches, pitches, pitches
You attend an event? Pitch. You’re in another town? Pitch.
You can share insights into a relevant sociopolitical topic? Pitch.

11. „But I don’t have a story to tell.“
Not true, it just might not be what you think it is.

12. Look into your data
You’d be surprised at what kinds of stories lie there.

13. You got customers?
Do you solve issues for a cool company?

14. Steal all the headlines
Reverse engineering is a fancy term which we can steal here.

15. Become a source of inspiration
You’re an expert in your field? Why not weigh in?

16. Let others write your story
Forget about a brand voice and stuff. Instead work with the things
that others say about you

17. Listen your way to success
Most people make one mistake: They speak first. Do the opposite:
Listen first and only then shall you speak.

18. Your character really matters
Are you an Introvert? Extrovert? Ambivalent? This really gives you different super powers.

19. Don’t hire an intern or agency
If you just get started and want to do PR, do it yourself.
Don’t hire someone inexperienced or an agency

20. It’s about them, not you
Be helpful first, get coverage second!

21. Be embarrissingly simple
If you pitch with the words of a 7th grader, you are onto something.

22. Persistence is sexy
Reputation doesn’t build over night. It takes time - treat it like a relationship.

23. Don’t produce
Super simple stuff.

24. Also: don’t produce
Super simple stuff.
🌸

25. Story Time

26. Using data, we reached over 1.5 mio. people in national
& regional media. Effective time worked: ca. 8 hours

27. A simple app launch campaign for a new messaging app.
1 week preparation, 400.000 downloads, no marketing

28. „Experimental stuff“

29. Community, Community, Community!
Turn your approach around. Produce the traffic first, then pitch the story.

30. Trading Stories up the Chain
How to turn something small into something big

31. Become the editor yourself!
Whee! Taboola and Outbrain let’s you publish anything on all the major publications

32. Get rejected!
I have a daily reminder to turn a negative thing into something positive

33. Tools & Resources

34. Ryan Holiday
Trust Me, I’m Lying
Austin Kleon
Steal Like an Artist
Alain de Botton
The News
Recommended Books

35. EMPFOHLENE TOOLS
@journodata Blendle
A growing database with 400 of the most
important tech journalists in Germany, Europe
and the US
Blendle was made for people to pay for articles
with micro-payments. But they are also an
excellent research tool.
Product Hunt Nylas Mail
You most likely know Product Hunt. If not: Best
place to discover new tools and get your startup
featured in the future.
My favorite email client: Offers you a ton of
scheduling, tracking and customization options.
Periodic Table of Content Marketing
Just google it. Great way to get an overview of all
options to choose from for your marketing and
PR efforts.
Recommended Tools

36. EMPFOHLENE COMMUNITIES & BLOGS
tim.blog indiehackers.com
Best-selling author, growth hacker
and overall inspiring person.
Collection of super transparent
approaches from indie developers
and founders how they grew their
businesses.
growthhackers.com
A growing community of growth
hackers, Marketers and PR peepz.
Recommended Communities

37. Thank you!

38. balloupr.com
@BallouPR
Unit 508 Clerkenwell Workshops
31 Clerkenwell Close
London EC1R 0AT
cordy@balloupr.com
+44 20 37 35 87 54
Cordy Griffiths
European Managing Director
balloupr.com
@BallouPR
56 rue Saint-Georges
75009 Paris
cedric@balloupr.com
+33 1 42 22 24 10
balloupr.com
@BallouPR
Linienstrasse 42
10119 Berlin
ela@balloupr.com
+49 30 24 63 07 19
Michaela Krause
General Manager Germany
Cédric Voigt
General Manager France
Thank you!